PinoyEcoFarmer

Crop Rotation on Organic Farms : A Planning Manual. Crop rotation is a critical feature of all organic cropping systems because it provides the principal mechanism for building healthy soils, a major way to control pests, and a variety of other benefits. Crop rotation means changing the type of crop grown on a particular piece of land from year to year. As used in this manual, the term includes both cyclical rotations, in which the same sequence of crops is repeated indefinitely on a field, and noncyclical rotations, in which the sequence of crops varies irregularly to meet the evolving business and management goals of the farmer. Each field has its own rotation, and, consequently, each farmer manages a set of rotations.

Good crop rotation requires long-term strategic planning. However, planning does not necessarily involve identifying which crop will be grown on a field years in advance. Indeed, such specificity may prove futile as plans become disrupted by weather, changes in the market, labor supply, and other factors. Lack of planning, however, can lead to serious problems—for example, the buildup of a soilborne disease of a critical crop, or imbalances in soil nutrients. Such problems can result in an inability to meet the demands of a carefully cultivated market or in additional labor and expense. Problems caused by faulty rotation often take several years to develop and can catch even experienced growers by surprise. In fact, rotation problems usually do not develop until well after the transition to organic cropping. Since the crops grown by organic farmers are often different and more diverse than those grown in the preceding conventional system, the organic transition itself often rotates away from the previous crops and their associated problems. Most farmers are greatly tempted to plant excessive acreage of the most profitable crop or to overuse certain fields for one type of crop. Such practices can lead to costly problems that take many years to correct. The purpose of this book is to help growers and farm advisors understand the management of crop rotations; avoid crop rotation problems; and use crop rotation to build better soil, control pests, and develop profitable farms that support satisfied families.

We did not expect to see any macapuno in one of our coconut harvests but were pleasantly surprised when we found two nuts among the heap of coconuts that we gathered. Pinpointing the tree though would be a really big challenge as we have no idea where those specifically came from and there is a great chance that not all the nuts coming from that specific tree would be macapuno.

I guess we just have to rely on luck and just enjoy the little vat of sweetened macapuno for now. Who knows nature may give us more.

An opportunity to visit this odorless and relatively fly-free hog farm presented itself when a environmentalist friend suggested it in our itinerary during our recent Bacolod trip. The owner’s son who is also an active environmental advocate in Negros Occidental arranged our trip to their farm in Victorias City.

The farm is located in the vicinity of the city just at the back of a big grocery store but it does not create a problem because of its unconventional way of waste management. It is amazing considering that it houses about 800 heads of hogs in any given time. In addition to probiotic spraying to prevent the multiplication of flies, the farm likewise employs natural processes using azolla and quiapo as consumers of manure. These nutrient-rich plants which carpet the ponds are then used as feed supplements and vermifeed that sustain the other livestock in the farm including ducks and chicken.

Another attraction that is rising within the compound is the a majestic house constructed out of lime and wood. The bricks are made of lime and cement mixture pressed into strong building blocks. The upper portion is primarily of wood and bamboo. The roof is cogon grass complementing the nature design.

A Malay-inspired pond house sits on a body of water teeming with koi and other water plants.  Trellises constructed out of bamboo are neatly positioned along the pathways. A variety of creeping vegetable vines (some with fruits) serve as a shade. No space is seemingly wasted. Plots of medicinal and aromatic herbs are neatly positioned at the sides accenting the whole place creating a garden-like ambiance.

The integrated farm has its own windmill that powers the water pump in the compound. The water requirement is surely enormous considering the number of hog pens that needs to be cleaned. The wastewater drains into the ponds where the azolla grows.

The farm is indeed a showcase of an urban-based food production that blends well with its surroundings. And for the weary, a blissful place to relax.

We were fortunate to be granted a chance to visit again the St Paul University Dumaguete (SPUD) Integrated and Sustainable Farm in Calo, Dumaguete City during our recent trip there. It has been six months since we were there and  I was surprised to see a lot of amazing changes.

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In the sleepy market of San Jose District in Puerto Princesa, Palawan lies a small garden planted to a variety of vegetables and herbs. The owner is an old lady who has spent most of her life advocating natural healing through the inclusion of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet. Sylvia Dumo Pendon who calls her advocacy  the “Natural Diet for Disease Prevention and Life Extension” is a retired nutritionist who spent most of her professional years in Quezon City but has since moved to Palawan. She told us that moving to the province to pursue her passion of growing vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants was part of her retirement plan.

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Empower the landless and earn money from alternative farming. This is the plan for a relatively remote barangay. This is a scheme that hopefully will inspire other villages in Laguna and even beyond the province.

The village of Atisan is located where the Malarayat mountain looms over rolling hills straddling the borders of Lipa on the Batangas side, Tiaong in Quezon and Laguna’s San Pablo. The village is 500 meters above sea level and about 12 kilometers east of the City of San Pablo which is famous for her seven lakes.

This is slash-and-burn area where poor squatter families cut the trees for charcoal, firewood and lumber, scrounging for whatever they can to survive on scant harvests of ube, gabi, luya, the occasional bananas and sickly-thin coconut trees.

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a lush ricefield

What does it take to convert a rice field cultivated the conventional way into an organic farm? One technique is to follow the system of Pastor Jerry Dionson of Humayan Ministry in Bago City, Negros Occidental. He has been helping the farmers in this rice bowl of Negros in converting conventionally farmed fields into organic farms.

Dionson and his farming colleagues have good reasons for converting rice fields into organic farms. For one, it is economical to produce rice the organic way since the farmers themselves are taught to make their own fertilizers and plant protection inputs. Usually, an organic farmer can grow organic rice at a cash expense of only about P14,700 per hectare. For another reason, the price of organic rice is much higher than the conventionally produced grains. The selling price is P60 to P80 per kilo.

As per the experience at the Humayan Ministry, the yield increases as the years pass by. In 2005, when they started converting their farms, the yield was only 75 cavans of palay per hectare. This increased to 87 cavans in 2006, 93 cavans in 2007, 115 cavans in 2008 and then 128 cavans in 2009.

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The chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and aquatic Resources (BFAR) is encouraging fish Dagupan farmers to adopt the Isda’t Gabi (Fish and Taro) Culture, an agro-aqua integrated farming technology found to be technically practical and profitable for household-backyard food production. Dr. Westly Rosario, BFAR-National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center chief in Dagupan City, said they are implementing this project in Sto. Tomas, La Union and in the BFAR compound in Bgy. Bonuan Binloc.

Gabi-fish culture can provide a net profit of about P362,000 per hectare in five months, Rosario said. He said the integrated culture of isda and gabi results in increased soil fertility, reduction of weeding cost and optimization of soil use and farm space. He said there are fish species that are suitable for farming together with gabi like tilapia, African catfish (locally known as hito) and freshwater prawn (or ulang to local folks).

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